The puddle of water, which depicted this unforgettable image, shocked the man. Time passed but he didn’t retract his lingering gaze, his mind somewhat traumatized.‘At last, you’ve seen it. This face… YOUR face, which will stick to you until the end of your life. So deeply engraved on your mind, satisfying your previous curiosity and completing a part of your newly-formed character.’Just the cognitive voice finished speaking, the other one continued, its tone gentler.‘Child, you’ve seen it and you must adore it. Look, I, no, we are not mocking or laughing at you. We’re crying for you, Tenebris, who took a peek at reality and can never leave it again. Oh, child, who wanted to see us, yourself, do not brood. What the heart keeps and the mind thinks is what truly matters.’Contrary to the previous times, Tenebris’ mood wasn’t alleviated by the soothing voice, which, actually, hasn’t introduced itself yet.He stopped looking at himself only when his stomach started releasing unpleasant
‘A ruin… great.’Tenebris heard himself complain but he maintained total silence as he got up and looked around, curious about where exactly he is. No one in Dochty mentioned the existence of such a place, which appeared to be some kind of ruins, and old ones, at that. The random hole he found was easily noticeable yet no one seemed to have fallen into that ‘trap’, plus, this lonely place looked unvisited for several months, at the bare minimum.This room was covered in dead insects, dirt and broken pottery. There were torches hung on the walls but none of them were burning, making it even more difficult for the man to see his surroundings. The light coming from the hole up above did provide some illumination but it wasn’t enough.‘You know what’s usually found in ruins?’In response, Tenebris shook his head, once to the right, once to the left.‘Monsters, abominations!’The man unconsciously shivered and his body stiffened as he realized that he was alone and defenseless in an unknow
Lucy barely managed to land on the ground: She coughed a bit of blood and wasn’t able to stand up properly.Leiu wanted to support her but she raised his hand and stopped him.“I’m… fine. I just overexerted myself.”Among all her abilities, the frey flames, which was the combination of Ice and Fire, two opposing elements, tired her greatly even if she used a little bit of it. Alas, she had to use a lot of it against the unknown Outer God.“I’m sorry about your Guardians.”The White Specter wiped the blood off the corner of her lips and slowly stood up. She could see the sombre expression on the Dark Knight’s face.He knew how dangerous this unplanned ‘mission’ was going to be, nevertheless, the loss of Amon and Milkan did affect him. Milkan, especially, was his first mount and a partner he had had since the very beginning.Right now, it seemed that everything he did would cause someone to die. The fear of losing everything was starting to haunt his mind.Lucy didn’t comfort him, she l
“So, this is Earth.”Once Anne was done training and Leiu ate his fill, he teleported them to Earth.They appeared in the facility he had attacked five years ago. The place was abandoned and left destroyed, though the corpses and vehicles were all gone.The Vampire, who had been excited to see a new world ,was left disappointed by the plain landscape. Other than the facility, the destroyed fence, and the woods, there was nothing particularly interesting or new.“We’re away from civilization. It shouldn’t take us a long time to reach Seoul.”Of course, Leiu wasn’t going to search for the ISB on his own. He was going to visit Hye Nari, hoping that she was still working at that internet café.“Hmm… okay.”While constantly looking around, Anne got on the back of Onyx and held onto the Dark Knight.The Starspeed Leopard growled and then shot into the woods. Within thirty minutes, hundreds of miles were crossed and the two reached the outskirts of Seoul. Although Onyx was ridiculously fas
Once outside, Anne faced Leiu and, curious, asked,“What’s a date?”“...”The concept of a date wasn’t entirely uncommon on Astria. Still, Anne had seldom left the Kantika Isles, and her knowledge of social stuff was worse than his.“Do you not know?”Embarrassing as it was, Leiu chose to speak the truth rather than lie.“It’s when two people, usually romantically involved, go and have fun together.”“Is that so? Okay.”Anne’s expression didn’t change, she looked at the nearby shops and restaurants before speaking again“Can we go to the Amusement Park? That looked pretty interesting.”“We have to get you clothes first.”“Ah… right. Okay.”…As she didn’t know anything, Leiu had to search for a good store, which there were many of, fortunately.Very soon, Leiu led her into one of the shops, one which didn’t have ridiculously expensive clothes.“Welcome!”One of the workers ran up to the two of them.“We’re just browsing, thank you.”“If you need anything, please call me.”And thus, Le
After what happened in the Amusement Park, Leiu and Anne returned to the Eternal Abyss Manor.They could have gone to a hotel, but the manor was free and more spacious.Once they appeared in the dimly-lit luxurious manor, Leiu awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to do.They had thoroughly enjoyed their day, became lovers, and solidified their relationship.Overall, the day couldn’t have been better for both of them. However, whether it was Anne or Leiu, both had little to no experience in romance.“Come on.”As he was lost in thoughts, contemplating what to do, Anne grabbed his hand and walked upstairs. She took him to the biggest bedroom, the one he usually rested in.“Anne?”When he called her name, she turned to look at him. She noticed his confused face, which, funnily enough, made her confused.“What?”“... why are we here?”With a straight face and an unwavering voice, she responded, “It’s too early to sleep, at least for you. We are together right now, aren’t we? And we’re
MongoliaEmperor provided Leiu with a lot of help.A private jet took them from South Korea to Mongolia, but the rest of the trip was made using Onyx. A helicopter or other vehicles would have alerted the ISB.Once the square shaped white building came into view, Leiu and Anne dismounted.[Child of Darkness]Before the action began, Leiu unleashed a monstrous quantity of Darkness. It rose in the air and then transformed into an enormous pitch-black cube that trapped the facility inside of it.It cost a lot of Mana for Leiu to maintain the cube, but he had to ensure no one teleported away.Darkness was an active element, speeding up the flow of mana and ensuring that spatial displacement, which required stable energy, wouldn’t occur.Inside the cube, the building and its vicinity were covered in a cold world of darkness, rendering visibility extremely difficult.[Dark Waves]With Anduril in his hand, Leiu leapt in the air and swung downwards, at the small building.An explosive blast o
(Author note: Another short story of Tenebris. This isn't necessarily AFTER the other story. Chronologically, I mean.)****Tenebris took deep breaths and he followed the rest of the platoon with heavy steps. His sweaty hand was holding a long blade. A tool only meant to kill, one which he wasn’t used to holding, much less using.Not long ago, he had been conscripted into the Imperial Army, and as if things couldn't get any worse, he was sent along with other new conscripts into the Mystical Forest.Home of the nomadic elves, this vast forest was twice as big as the Empire itself, though most of it was covered in thousands of trees, clustered together and obfuscating everything, including the long-forgotten ancient ruins.“They’re sending us to die!”One of the men walking in front of Tenebris, a youth with tanned skin- which indicated his Southern origin- cursed with a soft voice. He was equally as terrified as all the rest as he cut through the thick vegetation with his sword.They